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Hey there! Today we are going to explore how we locate our own communities, countries, and capitals on a map.
Maps help us see where we are in the world. We can locate our local community, our state of Texas, and the United States. We also find our neighbors, Canada to the north and Mexico to the south.
Every country and state has a special city called a capital. This is where leaders meet to make laws. Austin is the capital of Texas, and Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States.
To find these places, we use cardinal directions: North, South, East, and West. Canada sits directly north of the United States, while Mexico lies to the south. We use these borders to orient ourselves on any map.
Imagine you are standing in Texas. You want to travel to the national capital of the United States, and then to the country bordering the United States to the north. Explain how you would locate these two places on a map step-by-step.
- First, find Texas on the map. It is located in the south-central region of the United States, right above Mexico.
- Next, look northeast from Texas to locate Washington, D.C., which is the national capital. It sits near the East Coast, between Maryland and Virginia.
- Then, look directly north from the United States across the border to find Canada, our northern neighbor.
- Finally, trace your path from Texas, northeast to Washington, D.C., and then straight north to Canada to complete your map journey.